Helping Hands
by Risknight
Summary: Penny is in a lot of pain. Luckily there's a Texan willing to help her out.


Penny bit back a groan as she began the trip up the stairs to her apartment. Her shoulder was on fire. She suspected she had a torn muscle, but without any insurance, she hesitated to go to the ER. It had probably happened when she lifted that 5 gallon bucket of BBQ sauce. She had felt a sharp pain then, and it had only increased in intensity since. Sweat broke out on her brow as she turned to the third flight of stairs. For the last four hours, she had been holding herself so tensely that it was beginning to make her stomach roll.

She almost moaned with relief when she saw her door. "Just a few more steps," she told herself. She paused for a moment to lean against the wall beside 4A. She just needed to make it to the door, through the living room and to her bed. Everything would be okay if she just made it to her bed.

"Are you alright, doll?"

She looked to her left and found Sheldon staring at her. She tried to speak, but her mouth began filling with saliva. She made a gurgling sound deep in her throat as her stomach lurched ominously.

"Uh oh," he said, moving quickly. He wrapped an arm around her waist and shuffled her across the living room, down the short hall and into the bathroom just in time for Penny to lose her lunch in the toilet.

She felt a hand pull her hair back and the sound of running water in the sink. Soon a cool cloth was on the back of her neck and a hand was rubbing soothing circles over her back. Penny felt embarrassed, but there was little she could do about that. She was just grateful Sheldon hadn't run away screaming. Yet.

When her stomach was empty and she was reduced to dry heaves, a glass of water appeared for her to rinse her mouth out with. Her legs were shaky as she stood back up, and he quickly steadied her with an arm around her waist.

He led her back out to the couch and sat her down in the middle. He went to the kitchen and returned with a few saltines and a thermometer. Penny took the saltines but waved off the other. "Not sick," she said weakly. "Lots of pain in my shoulder. Made me nauseous."

He sat down and began unbuttoning her shirt, making Penny jump slightly. "Calm down, doll," he said calmly. "I need to get a good look at that shoulder of yours." He eased the shirt off her bad shoulder and turned her away from him.

Penny flinched as his fingers probed her back and shoulder. When he found the injury she gasped aloud and he paused. "Doll, I need you to lay down. I have some ointment that will help, but I can work it in better if you're on your stomach."

Penny looked over her shoulder at him cautiously. "You aren't Sheldon."

He grinned at her. "Takes most people a lot longer to tell us apart. What gave me away?"

She tried to smile, but it turned into more of a grimace. "It was 'doll'. Sheldon's never called me by a nickname. Well, except for the time he called me 'Kitten'."

"George Lyndon Cooper Jr.," he said by way of introduction. "You're Penny, right?"

"How'd you know?" she asked, moving to lay down on the couch with her head in Sheldon's spot.

"Shelly's told us about you. According to him, you two have had some rowdy dust-ups. Did you really fill his closet with rubber ducks and his bedroom with bouncy balls?"

Penny grinned, her cheek pressed into the cushion. "Yep. Of course, he started it by shooting me with a marble. And he plastic wrapped me in my bed."

George chuckled as he worked the ointment into her shoulder gently. "Shelly's a bit tenacious, but he's a good guy. A better brother to me than I ever was to him, for sure."

She moaned as the pain in her shoulder relaxed. "Yeah, he's a sweetie when he wants to be. He's probably my best friend."

"Huh. I thought Shelly said his girlfriend was your best friend. He complains a lot that you two spend so much time together he rarely gets to see you anymore."

She sighed and blinked away the tears trying to form. "Amy," she said with a sigh. "She decided we would be besties."

"You don't sound too thrilled," he commented.

"I never agreed to it, but I never tried to discourage her, either," she replied.

"Why not?" asked George.

"Because she's important to Sheldon," Penny admitted sleepily. "And Sheldon is important to me. He really likes Amy, and I don't want to make things difficult by being at odds with his girlfriend. We spend little enough time together as it is. If Amy and I didn't get along, he'd probably never be allowed to spend time with me."

George watched her eyes flutter closed as he worked the kinks out of her muscles. Soon she was deeply asleep, so he stood and returned the ointment to his duffle bag behind the couch. He walked over to the kitchen sink and washed his hands, deep in thought. He was reaching for a towel when the door opened. Several people walked in, spotted him and froze in surprise.

"Junior?" Sheldon closed the door and stepped around the others with a cross look. "What are you doing here?"

"Just dropped in for a visit," he said with a grin. A bespectacled brunette stepped forward and looked from him to Shelly and back.

"I thought you said your sister was your twin," she said with a frown.

"Junior and I look nothing alike, Amy," Sheldon insisted. "My eyes are blue. His are grey. I am an inch taller, and his hair is longer. Plus, Junior has a scar on his jaw."

"Yeaaah, you two are totally twins," a short guy in purple pants said.

George started to grin, but then the guy with glasses noticed Penny, shirt undone, on the couch. His eyes narrowed and his complexion paled. "Um, what is going on here?"

Before he could stop her, Amy crossed the room and shook Penny awake. "Bestie, why are you half naked? Have you given your lush body to Sheldon's brother?"

Penny started to sit up, remembered her shirt was off and quickly clutched it shut. George crossed the room and stepped between Amy and Penny, forcing Amy to take an unwilling step back. "She's not feeling well. You shouldn't have woken her up."

"Excuse me, but I think I know Penny a little better than you," Amy huffed with annoyance. "You are in my way."

George snorted with disbelief. "City manners leave much to be desired, it seems." He turned to find Penny had taken advantage of the distraction to dress again. She was holding her shoulder stiffly, so he bent and lifted her in his arms. "I'll take you home, doll."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Penny! What is going on?" demanded the guy with glasses.

"Not now, Leonard," she said weakly. "I don't feel good."

George carried her out the door and across the hall. Penny pulled her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door so they could enter. He laid her down on the couch and went back to shut the door. He saw the others watching with varying expressions. Giving in to the devil on his shoulder, George gave them all a wink and shut the door.

"You're bad," Penny teased as he walked over and sat down beside her.

He grinned and lifted a lock of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. "Doll, you have no idea."

* * *

 **A/N: This story burst into my head the other day and I had to put fingers to keyboard. Not a lot is known about Sheldon's brother, so I had free reign to describe him however I wanted.  
**


End file.
